Criminal Court Cases in Franklin County
Franklin County does not have one catchall criminal clerk. Franklin County Court hears misdemeanors, traffic cases, limited ordinance matters, and preliminary felony proceedings. The Franklin County District Court is the trial court for felonies. Both courts sit in Judicial District 10 and enter public docket events in JUSTICE, Nebraska's trial-court case management system.
The jurisdiction split affects where a file lives. A felony may begin with an initial appearance and probable-cause work in County Court before the prosecutor files the felony information in District Court. A misdemeanor usually remains in County Court. Search both courts when the charge level is unclear, and never infer the assigned judge from a regional directory. District 10 judges serve several counties and may have chambers outside Franklin.
The Judicial Branch's official Franklin County Court page shows the local court contact used for record access.
That office page is the better source for the County Court phone because the general county directory appears to list the court fax as its phone.
Franklin County's Two Court Clerks
Darcie Porter is the County Court clerk. Mail County Court requests to P.O. Box 174, Franklin, NE 68939, or call 308-425-6288. The fax is 308-425-6289. Marcia Volk Schenker is the District Court clerk. Its mailing address is P.O. Box 146, Franklin, NE 68939; the phone is 308-425-6202 and the fax is 877-674-0141.
Give the clerk the Franklin County case number whenever possible. State whether a plain copy or certified record is needed, and name the document or docket event. The Franklin County phone directory confirms the District Court line, but published county sources do not state copy, certification, or staff-research charges. Ask for the current cost before ordering a large file. Public-facing counter hours are also not listed. Call before a trip to the courthouse complex at 405 15th Avenue.
Franklin County Court
P.O. Box 174
Franklin, NE 68939
308-425-6288
Franklin County District Court
P.O. Box 146
Franklin, NE 68939
308-425-6202
Note: Use the court-specific Judicial Branch listing, which identifies 308-425-6289 as County Court's fax rather than its phone.
Franklin County Case Record Searches
JUSTICE name search is the statewide online route for Franklin County trial cases. The public one-time service is paid, and subscriber services changed pricing in 2026. Check the live service notice instead of relying on an old price. A public courthouse terminal is the no-subscription option. The index may show docket data without an image of every filed document, so the clerk remains the source for a complete or certified item.
- Select Franklin County and the proper County Court or District Court scope. Search both if a felony may have moved between them.
- Enter the legal surname and first name, with a middle name when it helps separate common matches. A known case number is more precise.
- Compare the court, filing date, charge, and case number. Do not select a record based on a name alone.
- Open the register of actions. Read every charge, plea, disposition, judgment, sentence, and later postjudgment event.
- Record the case number, then ask the correct Franklin County clerk for documents, older material, or certification not supplied online.
| Field label | Type | Required | Use in JUSTICE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Court Type | Selection | Service dependent | Choose County Court or District Court. |
| County | Dropdown | Service dependent | Select Franklin to narrow statewide results. |
| Last Name | Text | Yes for name route | Use the legal surname; retry sensible variants. |
| First Name | Text | Portal dependent | Use the full first name before variants. |
| Middle Name | Text | No | Helps test identity when names are common. |
| Case Number | Text | Yes for number route | Nebraska criminal numbers commonly use CR, year, and sequence. |
| Date Range | Control | No | Availability differs across search products. |
Franklin County Cases in District 10
The Judicial District 10 directory places Franklin County in a multi-county court and probation region. District judges Morgan R. Farquhar and Timothy E. Hoeft are listed for the district. County Court judges Michael P. Burns, Michael O. Mead, and Natalie G. Nelsen-Pacey serve the broader County Court district. A Franklin County docket, not a judge's base office, identifies who handled a given hearing.
The regional directory also identifies probation offices and the Central Nebraska Adult Drug Court, which explains why a Franklin County case can refer to a program or office in Hastings.
The Central Nebraska Adult Drug Court is an approved problem-solving court serving District 10. Its office is at 500 W. 4th Street in Hastings, and its published phone is 402-984-7805. A docket can reflect entry, progress, or a successful program outcome, but readers should use the filed orders and final disposition rather than guess what a program reference means.
What a Criminal Case File Contains
A Franklin County court file is richer than a booking record. It tracks the State's filed allegations, court events, attorneys, pleas, rulings, and final result. JUSTICE commonly exposes an index and register of actions. It does not promise downloadable images for every complaint, exhibit, presentence report, warrant, or sealed item.
| Case Number and Court | Identifies the Franklin County court, filing year, sequence, case type, and current status. |
|---|---|
| Charging Document | Shows the complaint or information, filed counts, statutory citations, and later amendments. |
| Parties and Attorneys | Lists the State, defendant party label, and public attorney appearances. |
| Register of Actions | Provides dated filings, hearings, orders, pleas, and other docket events. |
| Disposition and Judgment | States each count's outcome, such as conviction, dismissal, or acquittal, and the judgment date. |
| Sentence and Money | May show custody, probation, fines, costs, restitution, and public balance entries. |
Follow each count separately. A case can be closed while one count was amended, another dismissed, and a third resolved by plea. Likewise, “disposition” means the outcome of a charge; it is not merely the same thing as the case's open or closed status.
Franklin County Charge Levels
Nebraska offense class helps route a Franklin County file. Felony trial jurisdiction belongs in District Court, though preliminary felony events occur in County Court. Misdemeanor cases generally remain in County Court. The current felony penalty statute is the primary source for felony classes.
The statute image supports the court-level distinction, but the charging document and final judgment control the actual class and result in a particular Franklin County case.
The misdemeanor classification statute sets the statewide classes used in County Court.
Class labels describe authorized limits, not what a judge ordered. Read the sentence entry for the actual terms and the disposition for the result on each count.
Criminal Case Stages in Franklin County
Franklin County criminal cases develop in a sequence, but the booking charge can change before judgment. The county attorney may decline a referral, file different counts, or amend a complaint. A felony then shifts from early County Court work to a District Court information and arraignment. Pretrial motions, a plea, or a trial lead to judgment. A presentence investigation may follow before sentence.
Case flow: Charges Filed › Arraignment › Pretrial › Plea or Trial › Disposition › Sentencing
Later entries may show probation action, appeal, postconviction review, or a set-aside request. For a fuller view of how the earlier custody event differs from the court file, compare the county's arrest search process with the filed docket.
Note: A booking charge is provisional; only the later Franklin County docket shows what prosecutors filed and how each count ended.
When Franklin Court Images Are Missing
A JUSTICE result may list a Franklin County event without providing the underlying PDF. That does not mean the filing is absent from the clerk's file. Write down the court, case number, event name, and event date. Ask County Court or District Court for that exact document, and say whether a plain or certified copy is needed. Older or non-indexed material may also require clerk research.
Certification matters when the recipient needs proof that a copy came from the court. The public online index is useful for locating a case, but it is not itself a certified court record. Ask about the current fee, accepted delivery method, and any cost estimate. Franklin County has not published local copy prices or a counter schedule in the reviewed official material.
Access Rules for Case Records
Nebraska generally allows inspection of public court material, while the Nebraska Supreme Court public-access rules govern restricted identifiers and documents. Franklin County's online view may omit Social Security numbers, complete account data, victim or minor identifiers, presentence material, and sealed filings. Juvenile matters follow separate access rules. An active or sealed warrant may also be unavailable.
Under Nebraska's public-record inspection law, a public record can be requested from its custodian unless another law makes it confidential. Court rules still control judicial records. Ask the Franklin County clerk for a redacted public portion when part of a file is restricted rather than assuming the whole case is closed.
The court file and the Nebraska State Patrol RAP sheet are separate products. A Franklin County file provides motions, hearings, judgment, and sentence detail. The RAP sheet compiles fingerprint-supported Nebraska arrest cycles and dispositions reported back to NSP. A missing or late disposition in that repository should be checked against a certified court outcome.
The Nebraska Department of Correctional Services is a later custody source, not the keeper of the Franklin County trial file.
Use NDCS after a prison commitment, while the Franklin County clerks remain the official sources for the judgment and sentence that led there.
Trace Every Franklin County Count
The safest reading method is count by count. Match each filed charge to its plea, disposition date, judgment, and sentence. An amended charge can replace the label shown at arrest. A dismissal on one count does not erase a conviction on another, and a closed case status does not explain the result by itself.
- Arraignment
- The hearing where charges are stated and a plea is taken.
- Register of actions
- The dated list of Franklin County filings, hearings, orders, and results.
- Disposition
- The outcome of a charge, such as conviction, dismissal, or acquittal.
- Information
- A charging document filed by the prosecutor, often in a felony case.
- Set aside
- Nebraska relief that can nullify an eligible conviction but does not promise destruction of every historical record.
For a definitive result, request the final judgment and sentence from the clerk that owns the file. Then compare that certified record with any Nebraska criminal-history report that appears incomplete.